World

Hadi Backs National Dialogue Agreement While Rejecting Talks With Houthi Rebels

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A 2014 National Dialogue Agreement in Yemen offers the best chance of ending the nation’s civil war, while direct talks with Houthi rebels can never achieve peace, Yemen President Abdrabuh Mansour Hadi told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
Sputnik

"Our people are the one that currently struggles to implement the outcome of the national dialogue conference which has enjoyed unanimity by Yemenis of all ilks," Hadi said.

Hadi was apparently referring to a National Dialogue agreement brokered by the United Nations and the Gulf Cooperation Council that allowed Hadi to assume the presidency from longtime leader Ali Abdullah Saleh in early 2012.

READ MORE: Road to Peace in Yemen Begins Despite Houthis' Absence at Talks — UN Envoy

Yemen President Hadi Headed to US for Urgent Medical Treatment - Reports
When the dialogue was abandoned in 2014, Houthi rebels and forces loyal to ousted leader Saleh seized much of western Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa.

Hadi made no reference to more recent attempts to negotiate an end to Yemen’s conflict and instead delivered an address that ruled out direct talks with rebels as a non-starter.

Hadi said the Houthi rebels consider themselves a unique race, have forgone its loyalty to Yemen and become a proxy for Iran and Hezbollah.

"All attempts at peace that are made with this group are doomed to fail," Hadi said.

A United Nations-backed peace conference in Geneva earlier this month collapsed when the Houthis failed to attend.

Discuss